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Craig Morgan, Sheree J. Wilson, The Passion of the Christ, Candice Olson

I am wondering why country singer Craig Morgan has not been on CMT, and why we do not hear more about him. His song Almost Home should have made it to song of the year.
—Jean S., West Virginia

The song, which climbed to No. 6 on the charts, has racked up several trophies for Morgan and co-writer Kerry Kurt Phillips, including Music Row magazine’s prestigious Song of the Year Award. Morgan recently was honored with the Songwriter Achievement Award from The Nashville Songwriters Association International. "I like to paint vivid pictures that walk you through the emotions involved with everyday experiences," says Morgan, a native of Nashville, Tenn. That’s What I Love About Sunday, a song from his upcoming album, My Kind of Livin’, is doing well on CMT. Morgan and his wife, Karen, live in Dickson, Tenn. (pop. 12,224), with their four children.

Please give me any information you can on Sheree J. Wilson who played Assistant District Attorney Alex Cahill on Walker, Texas Ranger, and then became Walker’s wife on the program.
—Hazel B., Minnesota

Wilson, born Dec. 12, 1958, came to Walker, Texas Ranger from another popular show—she played April Stevens Ewing on Dallas from 1986 until 1991. The Rochester, Minn., native grew up on a farm, which later served her well as a rodeo rider. She moved to Boulder, Colo., at age 8, and after college became a model in New York for the famed Ford Agency. The actress has worked steadily in TV and films since 1984. She has two sons, Luke and Nicholas, and is married to Paul DeRobbio. In 2004, she completed the film Birdie and Bogey.

The film The Passion of the Christ was amazing, and said to be funded from Mel Gibson’s own finances at great cost. How has the film done financially?
—June B., New York

Gibson’s risky film about the last hours of Jesus did an excellent job of turning buzz into a box office hit. The actor/director spent $25 million to make it, and between its opening and closing weekends (Feb. 25 to July 23, 2004), its total take in the United States was more than $370 million. That made it the third highest-grossing film of the year, behind Shrek 2 and Spider-Man 2. In addition, worldwide sales reached $600 million. The movie, which starred Jim Caviezel as Jesus, ranks No. 9 on Variety’s Top 250 Films of All Time box office openers list, with Titanic topping them all.

Can you tell me more about Candice Olson on Divine Design on HGTV?
—Norma B., Kentucky

The innovative and practical-living-friendly interior designer grew up in a small town in northern Ontario, Canada, called Kenora. "It’s a beautiful little town where the population quadruples in the summer because of all the cottages in the area," she says. As a kid, Olson showed glimmers of a talent for decorating. "I was always drawing and doodling," she says, "but the clincher was when my mother asked me to clean up my room and it ended in a major renovation." Still, she didn’t automatically consider design as a career, focusing instead on athletics. While a student at the University of Calgary, Olson played volleyball on the Canadian National Team. She applied to the School of Interior Design at Ryerson University in Toronto after graduation, and though she says she didn’t expect to be accepted, she ended up as one of the school’s star pupils. She worked for various design firms over the years before opening Candice Olson Design in 1994. A few TV guest appearances on various shows in Canada led to her hosting Divine Design. She and her husband live in Toronto with their baby daughter.

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